A couple of arctic cold fronts moved through central Indiana during the week from December 13-19, 2016. This brought some accumulating snow, ice, and some of the coldest temperatures seen in December in over a decade.

A band of snow set up near Interstate 70 on December 13. The snow accumulated to around 4 inches in some areas. Below is a 24 hour snowfall map ending at 7 AM December 14.

On the evening of December 16 into the early morning of December 17, light freezing rain and freezing drizzle fell across portions of central Indiana, including the Indianapolis Metro Area. A glaze of ice formed on area roads and caused hundreds of accidents. Some cars were stuck on interstates for several hours due to the ice and accidents.

Temperatures

The relatively mild temperatures of early December gave way to cold conditions as the first arctic front moved through. Low temperatures on the 14th and 15th fell into the single digits, and on the 19th temperatures fell to below zero at several locations across central Indiana. At Indianapolis, the low temperature of -1 on December 19 was the coldest December temperature since 2004. Below are a few maps showing the cold low temperatures.